Speaker: Kelsey Kates, Dublin, Ireland
How (and why) are you taking action on climate change solutions in, for, and with your community?
Kelsey Kates: I'm Kelsey Cates from Dublin Ireland. This Earth day is exceptionally special for me as it just happens to be the due date of my second child. Something that until nine months ago, I didn't think should or would happen in large part because I didn't think bringing a baby into this world with our climate change was a good idea. So the last few years, Brian, my husband and I have been doing a lot of researching and soul searching. And as you all know, the truth is having one fewer kid has the greatest direct impact that an individual can make. That said, we also know that us not having a kid isn't going to save our planet. So in addition to changing a lot of our own behaviors, my husband got me the best gift in the world. And that's the story I want to share with you one year ago before my 40th birthday, he reached out to 40 of my closest friends and family and asked them to make a big commitment for the environment for a full year and document their journey. Shannon, my boss petitioned to reinstate recycling in her community. My old Professor Carol used, used clothing to make quilts for children's hospital. My brother recycled thousands of pieces of scrap metal. Our neighbors only line dried their clothes. These stories continue 40 of them. It's sharing my story and encouraging others to share theirs that I think can make the biggest progress in our world and something I'm excited to do more of.
Who or what inspires/inspired you to care about climate change and climate solutions?
Kelsey Kates: Hi, I'm Kelsey Cats from Dublin Ireland. This Earth day is exceptionally important to me and special. It just so happens to be the due date of my second child. Something that I didn't think would or quite frankly should happen before nine months ago in large part because I didn't know how to bring another baby into this world in an environmentally friendly way. That's mindful of our planet. But the part of my story I want to share with you is the present my husband gave me years literally years after we've been searching and researching on how we can change our own behaviors. One year ago before my 40th birthday, he reached out to 40 of my closest friends and family members and asked them to make a big gesture for our planet and document their journey. Over the next year, my boss Shannon reinstated recycling in her neighborhood. My brother recycled thousands of pounds of scrap metal through his work. My friend Janica changed to getting an electric bike and stopped driving 40 stories from plant based milk to not using single use plastics to starting new funds or being part of community centers and foundations they changed how they showed up. We have decided to have another baby. And while we're going to do that as sustainable as possible, the big change in things that we are doing is to talk about it more and empowering our own ourselves and our communities to keep making progress and making the world a better place.
